Last weekend, Dad-oo was watching the Food Network, which is always on in our house on weekends (unless it’s Sunday or course, then it’s football). Rachel Ray’s 30 Minute Meals was on, one of our least favorite shows. Well, Dad-oo’s least favorite at least, I really don’t mind her. But Dad-oo has something against all of her made up words, like EVOO and Yumm-o. Which is pretty funny, considering that Dad-oo and I make up words all of the time. I guess our words are just better than hers. 
Anyway, Dad-oo thought it might be something I would like to try, so we added it to our meal list last week. I added the ingredients to my grocery shopping list, without looking that closely at the recipe, so it was only later that I discovered that most of the ingredients didn’t have a quantity. Just a handful, or a bunch or bundle. Sorry Rachel, but that really isn’t very helpful to the average chef. I need exact measurements, thank you very much. Thankfully, some of the comments helped out, and I was able to make something that was pretty darn tasty. So, if you want to view the original recipe, be my guest. But I’ve broken it down in an easy-to-follow list, complete with measurements. Oh, and sorry for the lack of photos, in my amazement from the lack of ingredients, I completely forgot.
What is our final verdict? It was pretty good. Not the best thing I’ve ever had, but I think that I would make it again. We used the leftover sauce on pizzas a few days later, and I think I actually like it better on pizza than on pasta. What did Eli think? Are you kidding me? With all of the “green” there’s no way he would have touched it. I did give him a piece of pizza to try, but once he ripped off the cheese, and saw the “green” it was all over.
Spinach Artichoke Whole-Wheat Penne
1 pound whole-wheat penne pasta
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 (15-ounce) can or 1 (10-ounce) box frozen artichoke hearts, defrosted, drained and quartered
1/2 of a 10 oz package of frozen spinach, thawed (you can use fresh spinach too)
1/4 white onion chopped
1/2 cup chicken broth
1.5-2 tablespoons mint leaves
1/2 cup crushed almonds ( I just used what we had in the house, which were salted, so I omitted the salt listed below)
Kosher salt or freshly ground sea salt and black pepper
1 large clove garlic – peeled (I used
Romano cheese (as much or as little as you like)
1/2 – 1 cup reserved pasta water
Place a large pot of water over high heat and bring up it up to a boil to cook the pasta, season with some salt and cook to al dente, according to package directions. Drain and reserve about 1 cup of the cooking water.
Heat 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil in medium nonstick skillet. Add artichokes to heat through and lightly brown at edges.
In the bowl of a food processor add the onion, 1/2 cup chicken broth, spinach leaves, mint, almonds and salt and pepper, to taste. Mince garlic and mash up into paste with a little salt. Turn processor on and add in about 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil.
Scrape the spinach pesto into the artichoke pan and loosely cover with foil. Bring mixture to a simmer over low to medium-low heat and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the reserved pasta cooking water to get the desired thickness ( added about 3/4 cup). Mix in the pasta and the cheese. Toss to coat the pasta with the sauce and heat for 1 minute. Transfer to a serving bowl or platter, season with salt and pepper, to taste, and serve.
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I made these muffins last night with a few modifications (no raisins or nuts and some adjustments to the sweeteners and oils), and Libbie gobbled one down this morning like it was candy. And she is a picky girl!
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Bran-Flax-Muffins/Detail.aspx
It sounds pretty good! I used to like RR but now I can’t stand to listen to her talk.
Vanderbilt WIfw´s last blog ..Show Us Your Life: Thanksgiving Traditions
Those look yummy. I’ll have to give them a try.
I think its her stupid 15 dollar garbage bowl that bothers me so much. It’s a frickin’ BOWL. What if I used it to mix something in? Would the world move out of its orbit? It’s a bowl. If you want, I will MAKE you a bowl to store your food trash in and I’ll charge you 7.50 (plus a monthly 5 dollar garbage storage tax…).
Sounds yummy! Thanks for joining in the fun at Friday Favorites!
~Liz
Liz@HoosierHomemade´s last blog ..Friday Favorites ~ Thanksgiving
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